From Mexico’s newest superhero to Iran’s most elegant hand-washer: Watch how countries are promoting coronavirus safety

In Mexico, it was time for a superhero. The coronavirus had arrived. Given the country’s warm Latin culture — 130 million people relentlessly slapping backs, hugging and kissing — the government needed reinforcements.

Meet Susana Distancia — her name a pun on the Spanish for “your healthy distance.” The cartoon heroine is now popping up on Mexican radio, TV ads and, of course, the Internet to teach kids to battle “the evil coronavirus.” Imagine your own superpower, she says: creating an invisible bubble around yourself, keeping everyone else at least 1.5 meters away.

How do you persuade people to change their behavior to combat the spread of covid-19? From Iran to Vietnam, from Senegal to Guatemala, public service announcements are using music, cartoons and the occasional herbivorous mammal to drive home the new reality.

In Vietnam, health authorities worked with lyricist Khac Hun to repurpose a pop hit into a lesson on social distancing and cleanliness: “Wash your hands — rub, rub, rub evenly.”

The tune went, well, viral. And it inspired a dance challenge on TikTok.

The announcements are trying to break through in a way that traditional government announcements might not. “The intention is to create a form of communication that’s direct, friendly, outside traditional parameters,” says Jesús Ramírez, a spokesman for the Mexican government. “In an emergency situation that causes panic, what’s better than someone friendly?”

Well, it’s hard to deny these guys are friendly. They’re from the Bangkok Train Service — the other BTS — doing the “Dance Against the Virus.”

Some messages are closely tailored to local culture and needs. Check out this announcement running on Egyptian TV. It features old film footage of one of the country’s favorite actors, Adel Imam.

In Senegal’s capital, Dakar, neon murals add color to ubiquitous concrete walls.

Now graffiti artists are partnering with a university to produce public health messages. “Visuals can be stronger than words,” says Serigne Mansour Fall, who goes by Mad Zoo. In this African country, not everyone has access to a radio, much less TV. Some struggle with reading.

“Many don’t understand the seriousness of the situation,” Fall says. “So we are trying to create messages that people understand.”

Nothing like an afrobeats public service announcement to spread the word. This one features Ugandan singers Bobi Wine and Nubian Li.

In Mexico, the decision to go with a superhero reflects cultural traditions. The country has a rich tradition of such characters — but they’re more like ordinary people than American comic figures. “They don’t have supernatural powers like Superman, able to go through walls,” says Luis E. Coronado Guel, a specialist in Latin American history at the University of Arizona. “It’s more about the ability to survive. This tells you about the resilient character of the Mexican people.”

(At least one Mexican — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador — has been criticized for not taking social distancing seriously.)

Of course, it’s not just the governments producing public-service announcements. Iranian comedian Danial Kheirikhah got into the act, with possibly the most elegant hand-washing performance ever.

In Guatemala, even the biologists are doing their part. Not everyone in the Central American country knows exactly what two meters looks like. But who hasn’t seen this critter?

“If you encounter each other in the street and you don’t know the proper social distance,” the text reads in Spanish, “imagine that there’s a Central American tapir between you and the other person.”

Additional reporting by Danielle Paquette, Heba Mahfouz and Abigail Hauslohner; photo editing by Chloe Coleman; video editing by Joyce Lee, Alexa Ard and Jason Aldag.